Unknown
by Merciless Ruby
Summary: Tell me, Yamamoto, have you ever seen such casualties & pain before? Look at your dying shinigamis. Look at your precious Soul Society. Watch as they die. Watch as it all turns into ashes. Look at them, my good captain, & tell me….how would you like to die…. HitsuHina
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: Tell me, Yamamoto, have you ever seen such casualties & pain before? Look at your dying shinigamis. Look at your precious Soul Society. Watch as they die. Watch as it all turns into ashes. Look at them, my good captain, & tell me….how would you like to die….**

**I do not own Bleach nor any characters mentioned in this story.**

* * *

Yoruichi sensed it…the what? _That _she could not explain, but she knew something was wrong. Standing up from her spot on the ground, she looked at the sky and jumped, narrowing her eyes as the Earth's sun blinded her for a second. The closer she got to Urahara's strange house, the greater the terror within her chest increased. Only one question ran through her head…

_Kurosaki, do you sense it too?_

* * *

Yes.

If Ichigo had telekinesis and heard Yoruichi's question, he would respond yes.

He had been bored out of his mind, staring out the window, wondering if any hollows would appear any minute as his teacher discussed the importance of calculus. For the past few months after Aizen's defeat, only two hollows had appeared. Ichigo had taken care both of them within minutes of them showing up, for they were small, almost nothing compared to the strong ones he and Rukia had to fight before.

At first, he thought the bad feeling he had on his chest was nothing. Maybe another small hollow would show up later tonight. There had been one incident about a month ago where something odd had entered Karakura town; not a shinigami, but something _powerful_ and almost hollow-like. Nonetheless, after _it _had entered the town, nothing had happened. No danger. The town continued to stay quiet, everybody stayed the same, and nothing had changed. It's as if whatever entered was either defeated before Ichigo or any of the other shinigamis found it, or it was still in the town, hiding somewhere, waiting for the perfect chance to strike…

Furrowing his eyebrows, Ichigo rubbed his chest softly and wondered that if what had entered before had decided to show. But why wait so long? Why a month?

"And that is it for today," announced the professor, putting his sheets of notes away.

Ichigo immediately stood, deciding to patrol around as soon as he got home.

"Ichigo!"

"Uryu?"

"I need to speak to you-"

"Not right now. I'm going to do a quick looking around."

"So you felt it too?"

Ichigo paused for a second. "We should talk outside."

* * *

It was amazing how everything had changed from one minute to the other.

Aizen's execution was coming closer, but besides that, everything else in Soul Society was normal. New captains were sought to fill the seats for the three missing occupants. Toushirou, Unohana, and Ukitake watched as the top shinigamis fought for positions as captains. The day had been quiet…_strangely _quiet. Unohana pressed her hand on her chest, sensing a dreadful feeling upon her chest. She would get these feelings every day, but today's was different.

Miles away from them, Matsumoto and Momo sat, watching the rest of soul society upon the ceiling of one of the houses.

"I can't face him…"

"Momo, you know you have to at some point. You can't just keep running."

The young vice-captain turned her head and looked at the older woman. "How are _you _coping with him being gone?"

Matsumoto smirked and took out a bottle of beer. Momo shook her head and turned her head back at the scenery before them. "You can't keep on numbing your pain with alcohol. You need to face reality and move on."

"As should you. _You _should know by now that Aizen was using all of us for his own good, not just you. He may be what inspired you to become a stronger shinigami, but he is the reason why your best friend was almost killed. As grumpy as my captain can be, he still cares about you."

Putting her head down, Momo murmured, "I attacked him…what kind of friend am I? He protected me…and I betrayed him. I feel so ashamed. I can't face him. Seeing him reminds me of how much of a horrible _friend _I am!"

"Momo, don't- what the?"

Both shinigamis looked up as a large shadow fell on them. A rectangular-shaped object flew feet above their head, blocking the sun's rays. The object at first stayed over their head, but then rose up a few more feet before continuing to fly. Just as it slowly passed by them, they were able to estimate its size and just realized that this unidentified flying object was almost the size of Soul Society.

Shinigamis ran outside and looked up, unsure of what the thing was. Bells were suddenly rung and every captain immediately showed up by Yamamoto's headquarters. The great captain walked outside as he was met with a strange darkness. Whatever the object was blocked almost all of the sun's brightness that was present not too long ago.

"Do we attack?" asked Yamamoto's vice-captain.

The captain ignored the question and looks he was getting from the other captains and continued staring at the object. Whenever danger had risen in Soul Society, he always knew about them right away; but for once, he was confused. He knew that if he attacked first, a war between Soul Society and some_thing _would erupt, but he could not let this unknown object create panic as well.

And then, everything become slow motion to him. Either his old age was getting the better of him, or whatever that flowing object thing, it was _fast_. Cylindrical-like objects, yet still attached, slightly came out of the hovering vessel; and soon enough, some gray light was fired. Yamamoto's eyes widened as he turned his head and saw that his vice-captain, who had spoken a minute ago, was gone. Any trace that he had been standing next to him, that he even _existed,_ was gone.

All of the sudden, he felt his own body being violently pushed back as screams and more ashes appeared within sight.

"Captain, are you all right?! Captain?!"

The man opened his eyes and saw Ukitake leaning over him.

"Taichou, you need to snap out of it?! There are shinigamis dying out there!?"

* * *

"What do you mean it's blocked?"

Urohara ignored Ichigo's demanding questions as he paced around, sweat rolling down his face.

"You had no problem opening it before! What do you mean it's block-"

"There is _something_, Kurosaki, blocking the gate! I cann_ot _access Soul Society! I can't even glimpse at it! It..It's as if Soul Society doesn't even exist! I can't locate it! I can't sense anything!"

Rukia shook her head and run up to the former captain. "That is impossible! Soul Society can't just disappear! My brother's in there! And Renji! There has to be another way of getting _into _Soul Society."

"And I am telling you,"Urohara sighed, "that I can't access it. Something is blocking each and every possible way of communicating with Soul Society!"

"Could they have been attacked? Maybe hollows entered through and found a way to tamper with the-"

"No," replied Yoruichi, looking at Uryu. "Hollows aren't _intelligent _enough to go to Soul Society. The reason why a portal was opened before between Hueco Mundo and Soul Society was because of Aizen…because he had found a _way _to do it. But he's locked up."

"Maybe one of the Espadas helped him escape?" offered Chad. "One of the Espadas with enough power and knowledge to open a portal and get Aizen out."

Yoruichi shook her head, "If an Espada did manage to enter Soul Society, every shinigami, including Captain Yamamoto, would defeat him or her. Espadas may be strong, but not strong enough to defeat more than one captain. Even if that Espada did bring a few Hollows to back it up, it wouldn't work."

"If not Hollows or Espadas, what else could've done this?"

"It could be a glitch? Maybe there's nothing to worry about and –"

"No," Urohara said. "Whatever is blocking my attempts at opening a gate to Soul Society is strong. If Soul Society didn't want Ichigo or anybody else entering Soul Society, Captain Yamamoto would have said so. He wouldn't just _block _every single attempt anyone makes when trying to enter. Also, it can't be any shinigami or Hollow doing this. In my opinion, there is something else involved in this. Whoever or whatever is blocking us from entering Soul Society is using some type of magic that I have not seen before."

* * *

Matsumoto and Momo jumped to the ground and took their zanpakutos out as strange mechanical beings rained down from the flying object. Both shinigamis noticed that when attempting to attack these strange things, a blue shield appeared, thus halting their attacks. Like the object floating above them, these smaller mechanical ones also had weapons that shot out the same type of weird light and cause the same type of effect. Both women saw shinigamis be hit by such strange light and evaporate. Any trace that they had been standing there just a few second ago was gone.

"We can't attack and if we get hit by that strange light, we'll be gone! What do we do?"

Matsumoto looked all ways, noticing how the odd lights were about to rain down on them. "It's almost like an execution." She said. "We need to find shelter! We can't fight in the open!"

Grabbing Momo's hand, she ran into one of the small houses and noticed a few shinigamis already there, cowered in a corner. She saw the fear in their faces and couldn't blame them. If it had been Hollows outside, she would yell at them to go outside and fight. But they didn't know with whom they were dealing with.

"Vice-captain Matsumoto, we're sorry but we can't fight-"

"No, it's OK! We understand. Those things…are impossible to kill."

"What do we-"

The shinigami suddenly disappeared as one of the mechanical beings, knocking down part of the wall, appeared and began shooting into the room. The rest of the shinigami who had been hiding in the corner started disappearing as Matsumoto and Momo ran outside.

Zanpakuto held high, Matsumoto tried to attack one of the mechanical things from behind but failed as its automatic shield appeared. The mechanical being turned, and for a second Matsumoto noticed a pair of bright yellow eyes through the glass where the head laid of the being, and pushed the vice-captain feet away against the wall. Then, it turned towards her and ran as she scrambled to get up.

As Momo was about to help her friend out, two mechanical things appeared and aimed at her. Panicking, she turned and ran, immediately turning a sharp left around the house they had just escaped as two lights brushed just behind her. She made a right, hoping that the quick changes in direction would cause the things to lose track at her. She made two more rights, then left but halted as soon as one of the mechanical things appeared right in front of her. It aimed its weapon at her head and fired, but soon its attack met a wall of ice as Toushiro quickly appeared beside her, grabbed her, and flew away.

* * *

Tucking Yachiru onto his chest, Kenpachi growled as he turned and the white light hit the wall beside him. Six mechanical beings appeared around him, weapons aimed at him. Growling, he placed the pink-haired girl on the ground and urged her to run.

Noticing the young shinigami attempt to escape, two of the mechanical beings turned towards her but their attacks failed as Kenpachi screamed and attacked both beings. Despite the shield that appeared, both mechanical beings tumbled backwards at the sudden force that the angry captain exerted.

Kenpachi noticed that the four other things behind him were about to attack, but quickly hid behind one of them just as the light missed him and hit the mechanical being.

A loud roar was heard as the shield that protected these things collapsed and hit the mechanical being, causing the metal suit to shatter and a bulky creature slowly start evaporate. Before lying in a pile of deep brown ash, the creature glared at Kenpachi and snarled.

Not wasting any time with the others, he dodged the second attack and ran up to the one that had fired at him. The other creatures aimed at the captain's back and as soon as Kenpachi noticed that the lights were about to hit him, he jumped up and saw the mechanical being get hit with its own attack and eventually suffer the same fate as the other one.

Quickly, he landed behind one of them, attacking it with all his might as the shield turned bluer and bluer with each and every quick attack. The other beings started firing at the captain and again, he hid behind a third being and let the creature die from its own attack. Nonetheless, before the creature (along with its mechanical suit) turned into complete ash, Kenpachi grabbed part of the mechanical suit and yanked it out, giving it a quick glance before running away.

"Where are we going!?"

She asked, staring over Toushirou's shoulder at the floating object above them. She hugged her friend's chest tightly, afraid that a weapon would appear from underneath the object and hit them.

"Away from Soul Society-"

"But what about Matsumoto and the others!? We can't run away!"

"Captain Ukitake created a quick portal. It won't last long because it isn't strong enough. It leads to Karakura Town."

Toushiro dodged two attacks and flew quicker. Momo turned her head and saw what her friend had been talking about. On the ground was a bright green light and saw Renji and Byakuya enter it.

"Hurry before those things appear around here!" the white long-haired captain yelled.

"Hold on tight." Toushirou told her as he flew faster, stopped just above the portal, and flew in.

Matsumoto screamed as she felt a hand grab her arm. Ikkaku pushed her back as one of the lights hit where she had just been standing.

"Come on we need to go! Captain Ukitake has opened a portal for us! It won't last long!"

Matsumoto let the shinigami lead her on as she looked back and took notice of the destruction. Hundreds, if not, thousands of shinigami had been standing with their zanpakutos before, ready to fight. Now, only a few remain.

They quickly arrived to a frantic Kenpachi.

"I'm not leavin' until I find Yachiru!" the captain screamed, knocking down Hisagi. Ikkaku stood in front of his captain and stopped him.

"Captain, look around you! Everything is gone! Soul Society is collapsing!"

"I don't care! I will find her-"

Kenpachi stopped as two mechanical objects started firing at them. Kiyone screamed as one of the attacks hit Sentaro, quickly evaporating his body.

"Everybody! In the portal! Now!" Ukitake ordered, throwing a crying Kiyone over his shoulder and jumping into his diminishing portal.

Matsumoto jumped in, followed by a screaming Kenpachi as Hisagi and Ikkaku pushed him into the portal. The mechanical beings ran towards where they had been standing not too long ago, staring down at the empty ground.

Urahara stopped in his tracks as he quickly turned and saw a green circular object appear a few feet away from him. Rukia, Ichigo, Chad, and Uryu stood from their sitting positions and ran towards Urahara, weapons drawn, ready to fight whatever was about to come out. A cold breeze flew around them as their eyes widened and a sigh of relief escaped Rukia as she saw Renji and her brother-in-law step out. After them came a tired Toushiro still holding on to Momo. After them came out Captain Ukitake, carrying a weeping Kiyone and finally, an angry Kenpachi came out with Hisagi and Ukitake holding on to both arms.

The spiky-haired captain threw both men away and turned, but yelled once he saw the portal disappear. Angrily, he glared at Urahara and Ukitake.

"One of you better open a damn portal now!"

"But-"

"We can't." Urahara said, cutting the captain off.

"And why the fuck not!?"

"Because from this end, whatever type of communication we tried to have with Soul Society was blocked."

"Blocked!?"

"Yes. Something within Soul Society was stopping me from communicating with you! Besides, what happened?"

"We were attacked." Ukitake responded. "Something appeared out from the sky and started attacking us. Some floating object. Started shooting lights at us. If it touched you, were gone. Not injured; gone. Didn't leave any trace that anyone had been standing there just a few seconds ago."

"Do you know what they were?"

"No. It appeared and started shooting. I was able to make a quick portal once I saw that no one had a chance at these things. The portal didn't last long since it was weak, but it was enough for us to escape."

"Was it Aizen's doing?"

"No. If these things were going after Aizen, whether to kill him or help him, they would've done so first, or at least by now. But all they were doing was just killing. They didn't care what your strength was, if you were a captain or not; they just look at you and shoot."

"There has to be a way to get back to Soul Society! Yachiru is still in there!"

Ichigo looked at the screaming captain and looked down, knowing what he was feeling. Everybody stared at Kenpachi as the captain stared at all of them, hoping one of them would come out and say that they know how to open a gate to Soul Society. But they all looked down, an apologetic look on their faces.

"What about everybody else" Rukia asked. "Captain Yamamoto, Captain Soi Fon-"

"We don't know," replied Ukitake to his lieutenant, "all we know is that, bankai or not, those things are destroying shinigamis. Soul Society is destroyed."

* * *

Yamamoto growled as he saw his zanpakuto being taken away from him. He looked at the ground and closed his eyes. He knew in his heart that some of the captains and fellow shinigamis had escaped to Karakura Town, though he was not angry at their decision. He rather have them take cover and avenge Soul Society than fight a losing battle.

The old captain looked up as he heard another growl. Looking up, he saw none other than Aizen being thrown down to his knees. For once, Yamamoto saw the former captain look both confused and frightened. With his hands tied behind his back, Aizen looked up from his kneeling position at the older captain.

One of the mechanical beings suddenly took off its metal gears, letting it fall to the ground as it walked towards the kneeling Aizen. He stared at the ex-captain in the eye for a few seconds before revealing a long sword. Two mechanical beings grabbed Aizen and forced him to look down to the ground as the sword came down, quickly detaching his head from his body.

Captain Yamamoto didn't flinch as the unknown being suddenly turned to him, Aizen's blood running down its sword. The captain let the beings push him to his knees as he heard another set of footsteps on his left.

"You look down at everyone as if they were nothing but insects," the creature said in a raspy deep voice. "You like the power…the feeling of knowing that you're the head of everything! But how does it feel to suddenly be at the bottom?"

Yamamoto remained silent, yet something in his head told him that he has heard those words before.

The creature grabbed Yamamoto's head and forced the captain to look up.

"Look at the destruction that I caused to your precious home! Tell me, have you seen such casualties before? Such _pain_? Your poor Shinigamis are gone! There is nobody _here _to help you! Some of your precious soul reapers escaped! Good! Dead or alive I do not care about them, for they are nothing but insects!"

The creature let go of Yamamoto and walked a few steps back.

As the old captain tried to think of where he had heard those exact words before, he saw a small head and pink hair suddenly come out from behind a wall.

_Run and hide…until Ichigo or someone comes…_

The old man thought and was relieved to see the young vice-captain crawl back to her hiding place.

"I would ask you how you would like to die…but I figured that this is the best way of dying." The creature said as he brought the sword down to the old man's neck; and just as the sword was an inch away from his neck, he realized that he himself had said those exact words to none other than his son…

* * *

**Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii**

So..what do you guys think? Please review! If you like it, I will keep on updating! If no one likes it, then I'll delete it. As for Diary, I apologize for the 2-year wait... I lost interest in the story. I actually wrote half a chapter but I'm trying to figure out what exactly to do with it. I don't want to rush it.

**As for this fic, tell me what you think! Please leave me a note on anything, really!**


	2. Chapter 2

After the Shinigamis had explained in fuller detail what had happened, they were all prepared food and resting place. Urahara halted his attempts at reopening gates to Soul Society and decided that it would be best to resume the next day with Captain Ukitake's and Byakuya's help. Nonetheless, they were all wide awake, in case the strange beings showed up in Karakura Town.

Kenpachi sat at a corner, right arm resting on his right knee as he looked away from the crowd. The rest sat by the table, silently eating their food and discussing.

"I've read about old techniques that Soul Society used to use as transportation. I remember some things the book said, but if we start from there, we can continue it until we get on the right track." Byakuya said.

"I'm pretty sure Captain Mayuri would know how to open some type of portal," Hisagi looked up, "Did anyone see him around? I'm pretty sure he did some crazy last-minute experiment and got himself out of the mess."

"Probably. He's not the type to help others out. However, knowing him well, he would somehow try to reenter Soul Society in order to experiment on those things."

"That's if he can defeat one of those things." Toushiro told Byakuya, "Those things are impossible to defeat. Their aim is almost perfect and running away makes things worse. There's too many of them and they all fight in groups."

"Can someone describe them?" Uryu asked, "My father had told me about many creatures when I was younger. I can do research on them, see where they come from and if they have any weaknesses."

"And that is the problem," Toushiro replied, "We barely know what they look like. They're covered in some type of metal gear and if we attack, some type of shield shows up. We can't attack them and we can't get hit by that white light they use."

"White light? Do they throw this light or is it part of their suit?"

"It looks like it is part of their suit. They use some weird object as their choice of weapon. Something none of us are familiar with."

"So they fight more in groups than individually, and use some weird object to attack. What else can any of you say about these things?"

"If you get hit with the white light or whatever that light really is, you're gone. It doesn't even turn you into ashes." Matsumoto responded. "You get hit and that's it. I doubt that the shinigamis who have gotten hit even realized they were hit. Everything happens so fast. There's no time for realization and to feel pain."

"That is one hell of a weapon," Ichigo said, "These creatures play smart. They attack in groups, no matter who they're up against, and are protected by some metal gear and shield?"

"They're protected from head to toe," said Toushiro, "It's not just their chest or limbs protected, it's their whole body. That is why we don't know how they truly look like. We only know their armor."

"They have yellow eyes," Matsumoto put in, "I got close to one of them before it knocked me away. Part of their head gear is glass and although the glass is tinted gray, I was able to make out a face behind and some very bright yellow eyes."

The room fell quiet as they all processed the new information, all of them thinking of every single being they had encountered in the past and seeing if they had somehow seen one of them but had forgotten. Toushiro glanced to his right and looked at Momo, who was also not sitting by the table with them. Instead, she was sitting next Ururu, who had given her a sketch pad and pencil. Toushiro was curious as to what Momo was doing that had her so concentrated and had Ururu's large eyes become larger by the minute.

"I saw one…Two actually." Kenpachi said, his eyes still closed, "They may be smart by attacking in groups and having their whole bodies covered in armor, but they're not that smart. I outsmarted a group of them. About five or six of them were around me, all of them pointing at me. Hell, I wasn't even planning it." Kenpachi got up and stared straight at the wall. "One of them fired before the other as I was trying to distract them from getting Yachiru. I hid behind one of them and that one got hit by the others attack."

He turned around and looked outside, as if waiting for something. "At first I saw the shield get destroyed…and not only that, but that light destroyed its armor to the point that the thing was killed too. The strange part is that if they get hit by this light, they die at a slower pace. If we get hit, we're gone in the next second…but this thing? No…it died a few seconds later and I got to see it as it did…."

"Well, how did it look like?"

"…Something that's not from Soul Society or Hueco Mundo…and I doubt that this planet has these things as well. They're a bit hairy and very muscular. Their strength, if fighting with them one by one without any weapons, must be tremendous. Like Matsumoto said…they do have yellow eyes but their features are something that I have never seen before… In fact, they look like something that don't even belong in this world…"

"That's what I said about Hollows at first and now look; we see them so much they're like family to us," murmured Ichigo.

Kenpachi turned around and glanced at Urahara, "We are going to open a gate back to Soul Society. I know Yachiru's not dead and I want to get to her before any of those things-"

"Done!"

Everyone turned around as Momo got up and walked over to them with the sketch pad in her hands. "I didn't see any of them without their armor, but I drew what they looked liked." She placed the pad in the middle of the table as they all leaned in and looked.

"Momo, your drawing is fantastic!"

"You're almost like a professional!"

"Th-They're better than my bunny drawings! Momo, you must teach me your skills!"

As Renji, Rukia, and Captain Ukitake surrounded the young shinigami with more praises regarding her drawing, Uryu looked at the drawing and handed it to Ichigo before giving him a knowing glance.

"These things…use guns?!"

The soul reapers looked at the quincy confusingly. "Huh?"

"If Momo's drawing really depicts how they look like, then these things use guns as their weapons! I see no sword or bow and arrow…but guns!"

"And how do you know what these weapons are?"

"People on this planet own guns….but these guns look more advanced, something our technology is not upgraded yet to do so." Ichigo responded. "These guns look bigger than what common people own…in fact these guns almost look like small cannons…"

"If we knew what their guns were made of, I could research its history and see where it comes from. From there, we can guess where these things' home is…"

"That's going to be difficult. Means we're going to have to open a gate soon, take a piece of their weaponry, and come back here before they realize our plan. Too risky."

"There's no need for that." Kenpachi said, reaching into his uniform and taking something out. "I managed to rip part of those things' suit off. Here."

Uryu grabbed the pieces of metal and wires, handling them with care as he analyzed them piece by piece and then glanced at the sketch. "Just as I suspected; they use a lot of technology, something that can surpass the supernatural if used with great intellect."

"Can you find out what it's made of?"

"I will try. If I cannot, I know a few people who can help me figure out the composition of this."

"So that is the plan for now," announced Urahara, "Ukitake and I will start first thing in the morning with ways to open a gate. It will take a while since I'm sure those things don't want any outside interference. Uryu, you and Ichigo do as much research as possible regarding that. The rest of you should get some rest. Staying up all night won't do any good. I have two spare rooms you guys can take."

"Renji can come with me," Ichigo said, "I have a spare bed."

"Ikkaku and Hisagi can stay over at my place," Chad offered.

"And I'll crash at Orihime's," Matsumoto said.

The shinigamis went their separate ways as the sky became darker. Kenpachi, Toushiro, Ukitake, and Byakuya occupied one of the empty rooms while Momo and Kiyone took the other.

Ururu gave both girls some of her clothes and helped them set up the room for the night. Kiyone placed her mattress by a corner, her eyes bright red from all the crying. She thanked Ururu for the extra bed sheets and lied down, pulling the sheets over her head as more tears came out.

Shyly, Urahara's young helper walked over to the other shinigami, who was trying to keep her mood up despite the turmoil involving her home.

"..U-Um….Will she be all right?"

"She will," Momo responded, "She's just in a bit of shock… We're all in shock. That attack…was random."

"I'm sure Urahara will open a gate… He-He's always finding solutions to everything."

"I'm sure he will."

The young girl opened her mouth but stopped as soon as she felt someone behind her. Turning around, she saw a pair of green-blue eyes staring at her. The captain seemed unfazed by her sudden red face as he glanced at his old friend. Sensing that he wanted to talk to her, Ururu apologized and bowed her head, running past the stoic captain into her room.

"Can't sleep, Shiro-chan?"

A slight pause fell upon him as he glanced at Kiyone, who was trying to calm down her sobs as she felt the captain standing by the door, and then back at Momo.

"Let's go outside."

His friend nodded as she turned off the lights and closed the door, giving Kiyone the privacy she needed to keep mourning for her lost friend.  
**  
**

* * *

One can say that Orihime is very clumsy. One can also say that it is surprising that she hasn't accidentally killed herself by falling down the stairs or knocking her toaster into her water-filled sink and thinking it was a good idea to take it by bare hand…

Even when she heard the loud knocking on her door, it was surprising that the cup of hot tea she had just dropped didn't somehow land and injure her small feet.

Groaning at her clumsiness, she skipped towards her door and opened it, meeting a wide-eyed and slightly tipsy Matsumoto.

"Orihime!"

The shinigami jumped inside and grabbed the shorter girl by the waist, lifting her up a few inches from the floor.

"Matsumoto? What are you doing here?" Orihime did a quick glance towards the kitchen, hoping he had been gone as soon as he heard the woman come in.

"Soul Society was attacked… We were all attacked by these weird creatures and their advanced weaponry crap. They were so strong we had no other choice but to escape here."

"Did everyone make it out alive?"

"No…many of us were killed… They're impossible to defeat. Captain Hitsugaya, Kenpachi, Byakuya, and Ukitake along with Momo and Kiyone are staying at Urahara's while Renji's at Ichigo's place and Ikkaku and Hisagi are with Chad."

The lieutenant sighed as she took out her beer, frowning as soon as she noticed that it was empty.

"I was hoping you would allow me to stay here a few days until Urahara is able to open a gate back into Soul Society."

"Oh-Oh of course you can stay here!" Orihime giggled nervously, hoping that he had disappeared by now.

"Great! Thank you so much! Say, do you have some food? All of these ordeals made me forget that I haven't eaten anything since yesterday night."

Before Orihime had a chance to respond, the shinigami was already making her way towards her kitchen. Nervously, she ran up to her and grabbed her wrist, stopping her from entering the room.

"Wh-Why don't you take a seat while I prepare something for you? Besides, the kitchen's a mess…I dropped my cup of tea…and I have…other mess in there…"

"Oh Orihime, you know I don't care how messy your home is! If anything, I'll help you clean up. It's the least I can do for you."

Matsumoto turned towards the kitchen again but a nervous Orihime stepped in front of her with her arms wide opened.

"N-No it's OK! I can manage! Why don't you sit and I'll bring you the food?"

Matsumoto narrowed her eyes suspiciously before suddenly jumping over the girl and landing inside the kitchen. She looked around and saw nothing but the cup of spilled tea she had mentioned before. Orihime ran inside, and seeing that he wasn't there, sighed in relief.

The subject dropped, Matsumoto prepared her own food while Orihime cleaned around. The vice captain explained to her in detail about the attacks and how it was impossible to fight the new enemy. Orihime offered to travel to Soul Society and resurrect the fallen shinigamis, but the shinigami explained to her that that would be too hard for her – if not, impossible since nothing was left behind.

A silence fell upon them as Orihime finished up her cleaning, thinking about this new enemy of Soul Society and what its true purpose was. Too distracted with her thoughts, she didn't realize the shinigami had exited the kitchen, but the sudden scream and sound of glass breaking suddenly broke her train of thoughts. She ran out to see Matsumoto standing a few yards away from him, her zanpakuto drawn out in front of her.

"What is he doing here?!"

"Matsumoto, wait, he's harmless! He won't hurt you!"

"Bullshit, Orihime! He worked for Aizen! What is he doing in your house?!"

"He-He's…He's…uh…"

Matsumoto moved closer, but the former Espada remained still, his emotionless eyes looking at her as he didn't bother to take his hands out of his pockets.

"What are you doing here? Haven't you hurt Orihime enough already?"

"Matsumoto, please, he's not here as an enemy."

"And how would you know that?"

"Because he hasn't hurt anyone for the past month that he's been here! In fact, he has saved me from a few vigilantes in the middle of the night…"

"Orihime, are you out of your mind? This is the guy who tricked you into going to Hueco Mundo!"

"And I can reassure you that I am not here to hurt her in any way." Ulquiorra finally said, unfazed at Matsumoto's zanpakuto suddenly being by his neck.

"Matsumoto, please! He's not the same as before! He's been good and if he wanted to cause problems, he would've done so weeks ago!"

Still not fully convinced, she lowered her weapon and stepped back. "Does Ichigo or anybody else know about this?"

Orihime shook her head.

"If he's not dangerous anymore like you said, how come you haven't told them yet? If he came here in peace, then why haven't you told anyone? Orihime, why can't you see that having him here is dangerous?"

"Had I wanted to harm this woman or anybody else, I would have done so the minute I arrived."

"Matsumoto, please don't tell anyone about this. I promise I'll tell Ichigo about it…b-but not right now…"

The shinigami glared between the two of them before putting her zanpakuto away and walking towards the spare room she had used before. She had too much in her head to think about for her to be worrying about the former Espada being under the same roof as her. Nonetheless, she would sleep with one eye open and her zanpakuto close by.

* * *

Momo and Toushiro walked silently side by side, taking in how different Karakura town was to their home. Sure, they had traveled to the small town many times in the past, but only to protect it from the Hollows. They never had the chance to look around and see how culturally different everything was.

They sat on the roof of Urahara's house first, but left as soon as they heard Captain Ukitake calling for them, offering them candy that Ururu had given to him.

"We've been walking for the past hour and we're miles away from the house. What is that you had to tell me?"

Toushiro shrugged and looked away. "Just wanted some fresh air. Captain Ukitake is worried about Kiyone."

"I'm sure he's not the only captain here who's worried about a girl." She teased, giggling as he narrowed his eyes.

"You wish, bed-wetter…"

Momo was about to respond, but a loud scream interrupted her. They turned around as a large Hollow appeared behind them.

"I got th-"

"No," Momo said, grabbing his wrist, "I can handle this one. You're always protecting me; it's time for me to return the favor."

She took out her zanpakuto and ran towards the creature, leaving an agitated captain behind.

Watching as she jumped high up to its level, the Hollow opened its mouth, ready to release its Cero; but was stopped immediately as her zanpakuto made contact with the back of its head. The Hollow stumbled forward and shrieked loudly, turning its large body around to see that the shinigami had disappeared. It released its Cero again but all around, hoping that she would get hit no matter where she was hiding. It ceased its attack a minute later, standing there and waiting for something to occur. Sensing and seeing nothing, it started to move again but stopped as soon as it felt a sharp pain on its back. Angrily, it turned around and managed to see her jumping over its head. It released its Cero again and as soon as it saw her dodge it, it raised its fist and managed to hit her, causing her to fly back a few yards away.

Momo landed on the ground with a loud thud as she felt a sharp pain on her stomach. Looking down, she saw that the Hollow had actually scratched through her uniform and left three deep scars onto her stomach.

"Momo! Stay down! I'll defeat this!"

"N-No! I got this!"

The Hollow ran towards her, opening its mouth to release another Cero. She stood her ground as the Cero was released and came directly at her and as she as it was close enough; she jumped up high and swung Tobiume around, changing its shape as a fireball appeared and swung towards the large Hollow.

The creature released a scream as it fell back on the ground, but before it had a chance to stand up, Momo released another fireball and watched as the creature burned to death, its loud screech dying out by the second. Finally releasing the breath she had been holding, she turned around and saw a not-so-happy Toushiro standing behind her.

"What?"

"You got hurt."

"…I defeated it?"

"You got hurt."

"..But I defeated it."

"And you could've been killed."

"But I killed it."

Groaning, he grabbed her arm and pulled her up to her feet.

"Come, those wounds looks deep."

"I'll be fine; you don't have to worry about me so much."

"I worry because you can be careless."

"I thought you said that you weren't worried about me before?" Momo asked, laughing as soon as she saw him look away as he continued to drag her back to Urahara's.

"Who knew Shiro-chan could be so sweet and caring?"

"Who said I was?"

"Not the people you've intimated in the past. Did you see Ururu's face when she saw you? Poor girl looked like she was about to faint. I think she likes you, though. I caught her looking at you and blushing."

"Hm, not interested."

"You sure? I think she's very pretty."

"I'm sure. Besides," he said, turning to her and picking her up, "I know you would become extremely jealous if I weren't."

Momo's face turned a bright red as Toushiro jumped towards Urahara's place, leaving her at a loss of words.

* * *

After exterminating most of the soul reapers, the creatures decided to behead the rest of them and place their heads on spikes. Afterwards, they placed the spikes by each gate of Soul Society, starting with Aizen's and Yamamoto's heads, showing everyone that even the strongest can fall.

* * *

**Hey guys! So, few notes about this story:**

**1) Yes, there will be HitsuHina moments. Their relationship won't be the main focus of this story; returning and saving Soul Society will be but do not worry, there will be HitsuHina moments. **

**2) Yes, Ulquiorra is in this**

**3) The reason why I wrote this fic is b/c I'm honestly tired of the drama/romance/hurt/comfort fics. I wanted to write something that involves danger and adventure.**

**4) War of the Worlds, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Man of Steel, and The Avengers are what kinda inspired me to really think about this story. I really wanted to write a story that tested shinigamis' sanity once they saw their home being destroyed. As for the "white light" that the creatures us, so you guys can get a clearer picture, go on YouTube and type "War of the Worlds alien attack" and the first video that'll appear is "War of the Worlds - The War Begins". It's a scene from the movie that has these aliens zapping the crap out of humans with this white light. That white light they use in the movie is what I included in this fic. If any of you have time and love sci fi / thriller movies, watch the movie War of the Worlds with Tom Cruise. The movie's all about survival and that's what I wanted this fic to be about; survival. Aliens are always destroying Tokyo, Los Angeles, NYC, China, and other highly-populated places...I wanted a story where they kick the crap out of soul reapers.**

**5) I've stopped watching and reading Bleach so this fic is set after Aizen's capture but before the new arc where Ichigo loses is powers and stuff. **

**Thanks for reading! **

**REVIEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!**


	3. Chapter 3

_One week later…_

The middle-aged man put his glasses back on as Ichigo and Uryuu entered the empty room. It's been hours since school had ended and the only lights on were the ones from the chemistry lab.

"This thing has some odd components. Where on Earth did you get this by the way?" the old man asked.

The man was a chemistry teacher but had been an officer and researcher in the Navy years before. Uryu's chemistry teacher had recommended him regarding the device and wires Kenpachi got from the beings.

"…A friend found it…" Uryu responded, vague as possible. "Did you find anything regarding its components, sir?"

The man looked at him suspiciously. "Well then…. Well, I took this to another lab. The equipments here aren't good enough for me to analyze this… Unfortunately, this device is too complex to analyze. However, I did manage to find some traces of carbon in this."

"Can you see what this may be used for?" Ichigo inquired.

"Well, I can't really pinpoint this thing's purpose because all you gave me was wires and scraps of metal. I'm still baffled by all of this. _Where _did your friend find this? Because you know that if any military group gets their hands on this, they'll give your friend a ton of money for them to further analyze this."

"And why is that?"

"Because I can't tell what this thing is made of but I do know one thing; its components aren't something that have been discovered on Earth. Carbon is the only element I can find but it doesn't factor a lot into it."

"What do you mean?"

"This metal stuff you brought me – heck I'm not even sure if it's even metal – only has about 10% Carbon, which means it barely plays a role in whatever purpose this thing does. But I know that government officials would love to further analyze this and use these _unknown _components to help them create better weapons-"

"Well thank you for your help, sir." Ichigo said, grabbing the strange metal-like object and wires and putting them inside his jacket, "But we need to get going. Our friend will want this back."

"W-Wait just a second!" the man said, getting up from his stool as Ichigo and Uryu stopped in front of the door. "That stuff that your _friend _found…that's nothing the military nor any government agency creates…that stuff isn't from this planet, is it? From where was that thing created?"

Uryu turned his head towards the man and pushed his glasses up his nose. "If we knew, sir, we wouldn't be here talking to you. Goodnight, sir."  
_

Momo placed her zanpakuto down as Kiyone drank a glass of water. They had been training for days with their speed, forcing themselves to become faster. They practiced behind Urahara's shop with Ururu occasionally dropping by with their food. While Momo remained calm when rehearsing, she feared for Kiyone. The girl was still so distraught by her friend's death that she had almost killed Momo, thinking that her sparring partner had become one of those creatures, if it wasn't for Toushiro stopping the attack.

Although Momo wasn't angry at Kiyone for the mental breakdown, for she had the same one and almost killed her best friend when she found that Aizen had apparently _died_, she was afraid that Kiyone's depression and revenge will cause her to lose her life or accidentally end someone else's. Toushiro advised Momo to spar with someone else (minus Kenpachi, since he was another one on the verge of a breakdown), but she resisted. She wanted to help get through to Kiyone because she knew that nobody else would.

"Ready for another round?" Momo asked.

Kiyone nodded and raised her zanpakuto. Sweat and tears rolled down the girl's face, but she was still determined to keep on fighting. She ran towards Momo but stopped as her vision started to fade. Dropping her weapon, she placed her hand on her face as if blocking a white light – like a flashlight aimed at someone's face – from hitting her eyes.

"Kiyone, are you all right?"

"Y-Yes…N-No…Ugh, I feel…" But before she could finish her sentence, she collapsed towards the ground.

* * *

"How much longer will this take!?" Kenpachi yelled, walking around Urahara, Ukitake, and Byakuya.

For the past few days, they have been trying to reopen the gate towards Soul Society, but nothing. While they had drained their energies trying to do so, Kenpachi, Ikkaku, Hisagi, and Renji had been sparring as well, just like Momo and Kiyone, on increasing their speed. They knew that they could defeat those things even without having to use their bankai, but the problem was speed and avoiding the strange ashy-white lights.

"I thought you guys knew how to open gates!?"

"It's not easy opening a door when the other side is somehow blocking it." Byakuya said.

Kenpachi snarled and went back towards the shinigamis, ready to release his frustration on their training.

* * *

"When was the last time she ate something?" Toushiro asked as he placed Kiyone on her futon.

"Not sure, honestly. I've never really seen her eat and she barely sleeps. All she does is cry at night." Momo explained.

"I'll tell Ukitake about this later. She needs food and a good rest. If we do re-enter Soul Society and fight those things, she won't be any help at her state."

"How's reopening the gate going?" she asked as they both exited the room and jumped towards the roof top of the shop.

"Not good. As much as they try, nothing…not even a little bit. Those things are blocking every single entry from here."

"They took our home…and don't want us to return." Momo said sadly. "Shiro-chan, what if we never go back home?"

Toushiro looked at her with those calculating eyes, grabbing her hand reassuringly. "We will go back."

"How? They can't even start the process of recreating a gate!"

Toushiro didn't respond, letting her words sink in. They had been at it for days and everything they tried was blocked; and for every single day that passed, the more agitated they all became, including himself. Kenpachi was losing his sanity, murmuring Yachiru's name underneath his breath as he walked back and forth at night, Kiyone grew weaker and weaker the more she let her friend's death get to her, and Ukitake needed to go back to take his medicine for his coughs were becoming worse.

He did wonder what would happen if they were never able to reenter Soul Society and even he had to admit to himself, he did not like the idea. Soul Society was home despite him having to deal with Matsumoto's laziness and Captain Ukitake always annoying him about candy. It made him sad to think that he won't able to lie down on his bed again or even take a walk around his division.

"There should be a way," Toushiro said, glancing back at her, "We'll think of a different way."

The two sat quietly, knowing that the more questions they asked, the harder it will be for them to concentrate on the most important task right now – reopening the gate. While neither of them had admitted it to each other, they both were sure that if they never went back to Soul Society and had no other choice but to live in Karakura Town, they wanted to be together at least. While their futons, favorite food, and everything else was taken over, their friendship was still alive and keeping both of them from breaking down over the feeling of lost hope.

Although losing Aizen was physically and mentally hard on her, she knew that losing Toushiro would be worst. While a few still judged her for falsely accusing her childhood friend of killing her traitorous captain, Toushiro still stood by her and if anything, looked after her now more than ever before, and that made her feel guilty. Even if she tripped over her own feet, he would be there to help her get up – and eventually lecture her on how to walk straight. Her little Shiro-chan was no longer Shiro-chan, for he had also grown to become taller and act more mature than her.

Momo knew that if it wasn't for him constantly keeping an eye on her, she would've have been killed way before the war against Aizen and his Arrancars started. And how to repay him for being there for her? She didn't know the answer to that. Giving him gifts would be pointless because despite the fact that she had known him for many years, she wasn't sure what he would like – with the exception of watermelons, but if she did give him watermelons, he would give her an annoyed look.

Momo did a quick glance and saw him staring out, an indefinite expression on his face; but she knew that face; it was his thinking face. He always made that face whenever he was thinking about something. Was he thinking about her the way she thought of him? Momo shook her head, telling herself not to think like that about him, yet she couldn't help but notice that he looked so much older now rather than a child.

Oh, how time and feelings have changed.

* * *

After more failures regarding reopening the gate, the shinigamis took a break for dinner and relaxation. The captains spoke about alternatives on opening different gates and portals, knowing that traditional gates will not work anymore.

Matsumoto headed towards Momo's and Kiyone's room, wanting to talk to them a bit in order to clear her mind regarding living with an Espada, former or not. She caught Kiyone sitting by a corner, holding what looked like to be a necklace.

"Hey Kiyone, Momo,"

Momo nodded in return but Kiyone said no word, staring at the necklace in her hands and squinting her eyes as if holding tears back.

"How have you been? I haven't heard from you in such a long time. How's Orihime?"

"She's good….secretive…" Matsumoto responded, sitting across from her.

Momo's eyebrows furrowed. "Is something wrong?"

"…Ah…n-no…it's nothing… But how are you and Captain Hitsugaya? Did you make a move on him? Or he on you?"

"N-No!" she responded with a red face, looking around, afraid that he will pop out of nowhere, "Not yet, that is. I don't think he's interested in me…in that way. He only sees me as a sister and friend-"

"Oh, bullshit! I've seen how the captain looks at you! He definitely wants to take things further with you!"

"How do you know?"

"The way he acts around-"

"He always acted like that with me-"

"The way he looks at you. Momo, Captain Hitsugaya does _not _look like a kid no more, and you know that. Before, he looked like a child but with Captain Kuchiki's personality; but now, he looks like an adult. He physically grew and is no longer that Shiro-chan you grew up with! My captain is a man now, and I know that he feels more about you than just friendship."

"What if you're wrong?"

"I'm never wrong! Well, except for that time that I told Ikkaku that Nemu had feelings for him because she kept on staring at him – but it turned out to be that she couldn't keep her eyes away from the brightness of his head."

"Matsumoto, I don't want to make things awkward between me and him! You know what I dreamt of two days ago?" Momo whispered, causing the busty lieutenant to smirk and sit closer to her.

"What? Tell me!"

"OK, but this is very private and embarrassing! Do _not _tell anyone."

"I won't, now tell me!"

"OK," Momo sighed and closed her eyes, afraid of seeing her friend's reaction, "OK, I had a dream that me and Toushiro were on his desk…."

"That's it?"

"…Naked…"

"Aha?"

"Kissing…"

"This is getting juicy…"

"Having sex…"

"Oh my... Momo, you have such a dirty mind! Have you been hanging around Renji and Ichigo lately?"

"What? No! It was a dream. I-I don't control what I dream about."

Matsumoto giggled as she saw Momo's blush increase.

"You blush more than that girl Ururu. When I came in, I saw her glancing at Captain Hitsugaya and turning red. The poor girl. She almost tripped over a broom stick and fell on her face for staring so much! My captain really is getting the ladies."

Momo shook her head and glanced back at Kiyone, watching as the shinigami lied down on her futon with her back towards them.

"Enough about Toushiro. What about you and staying over at Orihime's? Did you guys almost blow up her house, again?"

Last time Matsumoto had stayed over at Orihime's, the human girl tried to teach Matsumoto how to cook – but what ended up happening was a fire in the poor girl's kitchen.

"Actually, I have to tell you a secret too..but this one is dangerous. Not everyone can know about it…not yet, at least. But, one of Aizen's former Espadas is staying over at Orihime's."

Momo's eyes widened in panic. "Wh-What? But I thought they were all dead! And why is he staying with her? Are they friends?"

"Well, not all of them died apparently, and he's more than just her friend. I don't know if either of them see it that way, but sometimes I catch them in the living room sitting close and once, I caught him holding her face, as if ready to kiss her. The funny thing is, he's been staying with her for almost a month. It's weird how no one had noticed him coming here!"

"So…he's not dangerous?"

"No…he isn't. He didn't even attempt to hurt me while I was there. But still, I do not fully trust him."

Momo thought for a while, an idea coming to her head. "I have a feeling we might have to trust him. What if he can help us get back to Soul Society?"

* * *

"So every possible fucking way of getting into Soul Society is blocked, and _this_ can't be analyzed to know what exactly these things are?!" Kenpachi yelled, throwing the small device with wires across the room as the others kept quiet. "Then there's no fucking point in even trying anymore! Whoever's left in Soul Society is dead already and we can't even go back to at least get their bodies! You know why? Because there's no fucking bodies! There's barely any ashes! We might as well forget all of this and stay here!"

"I never knew you to be such a quitter," Ichigi murmured, causing the furious captain to turn around and grab him by the neck.

"You have any better ideas, strawberry? Because right now, we can't even communicate with Soul Society! Even worse, we don't even know with what we're dealing with! So next time you want to say something smart, punk, think about it first!"

He threw Ichigo back on the floor and glared at everybody else, waiting for some type of remark from them. Noticing that they had nothing else to say, Kenpachi stormed out of the shop and into the night.

As soon as he had left, the rest looked at each other, for once, looking hopeless and not knowing what else to do.

Toushiro ran his hand through his hair as he felt Momo's small firm hand on his shoulder. "What is it?"

She grabbed his hand; something that made him feel slightly nervous yet loved the feeling of, and pulled him up to his feet. "Come, I need to tell you something."

* * *

Orihime knew that she had seen the girl before, and it took her a few minutes to realize that it was that girl that always followed Captain Ukitake around with her male friend. However, she had forgotten both of their names and was unsure what to say.

"H-Hi! Um…I'm sorry, but what's your name again?"

"Kiyone," the shinigami responded, revealing no emotion as she stood in front of Orihime. "You're Orihime, correct? The one that can heal any wounds as long as there's a part of them available?"

"Uh…yes? Is there something wrong?"

"I want you to bring back Sentaro. I know you can!"

Out of the corner of her eyes, Kiyone noticed the Espada suddenly stand behind the girl she was speaking to, his eyes fixed on her and for a moment, she almost forgot what else she was going to say.

"Matsumoto told me that there were no bodies left, or even ashes, for me to use to bring back any shinigami."

"It was dark when they attacked! There's probably _something _left behind that we didn't see! Please! You have to try!"

Orihime smiled as she grabbed her hand, feeling sorry for the girl. "I will try my best; however, I can't guarantee you that it'll work if there's nothing for me to-"she stopped speaking as Captain Hitsugaya and Momo suddenly appeared behind Kiyone. For a moment, she forgot that Ulquiorra was standing right behind her but it was too late to do anything as the captain made eye contact with the Espada.

"I want to talk to you."

"And what does the tenth division captain have to tell me?"

"I want you to help us get back to Soul Society. I know Aizen has taught you things that even shinigamis don't know about."

Ulquiorra stared at him for a few moments, and Orihime was afraid one of the two would start a fight. She knew that if a fight broke out, Ichigo and the others would get involved immediately and be angry with her for even talking to an Espada.

"He has," the Espada confirmed, "but you should be more worried about defeating your new enemies."

Toushiro stepped forward, his eyebrows furrowing. "You know what those things are, don't you?"

The Espada blinked, not letting any sign of emotion show on his face. "I am surprised you soul reapers do not have the slightest clue with whom you are dealing with. But to answer your question, yes, I do know what they are. They're called Berserker, and they fight for the sole purpose of extinction and their joy to hunt."

* * *

**Done! :D Sorry for the delayed...I got lazy! For those of you who PM-ed me, I'll answer soon...I just got lazy T_T SORRIIIIEZ! Anyway, This story isn't going to be long. The whole point of it is the shinigamis getting their home back, killing these bastards, and yeah... It's like, what would you do if someone came and destroyed your city and you had no choice but to go elsewhere? Pssh, I would avenge! But yeah, I just realized that this just sounded like The Hobbit. I hope you guys at least saw the movie (so amazing!) I read the book & saw the movie & you guys should give it a try too! **

**I said before that I had stopped reading and watching Bleach and some of you were telling me to keep on going. For those of you who're still up to date with both the manga and anime, apparently, they canceled the anime (boooo) but is the manga still going on? Honestly, I prefer anime over manga because whenever I read a book (manga counts), I get a bit distracted...but if it's a show/anime, I give it my 100% attention...with manga, some times I skip like a few dialogue because I know the next page will be better...but then I have to go back because I get lost within the story -_- but yeah...I'll start watching Bleach again until wherever they ended the anime. **

**I'm also watching other shows because I have friends who keep on recommending shows to me. One is Doctor Who! I'm on ep 4 of season 1 and it's very interesting. I'm not fully committed to it but I'll keep on watching b/c apparently it gets really good. Another show I started watching and I like is called Arrow. Green Arrow (character's name) is a DC character (he's in the same world/comic thingy as Batman and Superman) & it's a good show. Another show I started but have only seen two episodes (I think?) is Breaking Bad_._ For now, all I know is that this guy went from chemistry teacher to making drugs. People are going nuts over the new season so I have to speed watch through 4 seasons! -_- Last but not least, I also got hooked on Sherlock from the BBC channel... I started watching about a month ago & I recommend Sherlock to everybody! It is such a great show and I am a big fan of the actors! I am impatiently waiting for season 3 but if you are bored and don't know what to watch, watch SHERLOCK! :D**

**Ok, I am done! If you want to PM me and fangirl about any of the above shows, go ahead, I'll fangirl with you! If there's a show you love, tell me about it! I'm gonna need to watch new stuff! **

**REVIEW!**


	4. Chapter 4

Ulquiorra and Toushiro stood several yards away from each other as they all lingered around Orihime's living room. Both males stared at each other as Orihime and Momo sat between them, glancing at them as green eyes stared at bright blue. Kiyone looked hesitantly at the cup of tea Orihime prepared her, unsure if it was just her nerves or the tea that was making her ill. She glanced up and wondered if the captain or the Espada were going to say something first. Luckily, to break the tension, Orihime cleared her throat and stood up.

"Anyone hungry!? I-I have leftovers from three nights ago! Mashed potatoes with noodles, broccoli, and peanuts!"

Momo looked up at her with a strange look, thinking if she should try it or not. Matsumoto had told her that Orihime's cooking was the best; but the weird combination of different food mixed together sounded….disgusting. The silence continued but the awkwardness increased as Ulquiorra looked at her for a few seconds before staring back at the captain. Pouting, Orihime sat back down and Momo patted her hand.

"I'll try some of it later," she whispered, and the orange-haired girl smiled, and then looked at the males. "And are you two done staring at each other? We are losing time doing nothing."

Toushiro blinked and looked at her, scowling at himself for wasting time rather than discussing plans on getting Soul Society back.

"What else do you know about these Berserkers? Where do they come from?"

"I don't know where they come from. After Aizen came to Hueco Munco and gathered the Arrancars, he wanted to expand. Before attacking Karakura Town and then going after Soul Society, he wanted to take over somewhere else and create a bigger army – but he stopped as soon as he inadvertently stumbled upon those things. Along with Grimmjow and Gin Ichimaru, they weighed the possibility of taking out the leader and take control, but knew that it wouldn't be simple and these creatures aren't...rational. Therefore, he decided not to involve them in anything since he knew that they would somehow betray him…"

"Stumbled upon?"

"Hm," Ulquiorra gave a slight nod, "Aizen was in the process of traveling between worlds, finding an alternative in case Hueco Mundo fell, and found them in an unknown world. He saw how they fought and knew that no amount of persuasion would cause these things to side along him. He did do some research and found out what they were called, but it was hard finding out where they came from since they travel from one destination to another, never staying in one place."

"If they travel from one place to another, then they'll eventually leave Soul Society, right?" Kiyone asked. The thought of fighting these things after seeing how much destruction they caused scared her, and to make matters worse, they didn't have an army of shinigami to help take them down.

Ulquiorra closed his eyes, placing his hands deep inside his pockets. "Maybe…Maybe not; like I said before, I don't know much about them to know whether they will leave Soul Society or not. From what you have told me so far," he continued, opening his eyes and meeting Toushiro's stare, "it sounds like they are wiping you out of existing. These things use tactics completely different from what we use – they have no reiatsu is one thing to take into account; and because they do not, they are more difficult to detect."

"So you're saying that the only way to bring them down is to have an army – a large army – of shinigami?" Toushiro said, knowing that that would be very difficult to do.

There were only thirteen captains and thirteen vice-captains, but not all of them were together at the moment. Not only that, but the rest of the shinigamis weren't around either since most of them were wiped out.

"Is there a way we can take them down _without _the use of an army? Maybe by taking out the leader or the ones on top, we can work our way down to defeating the rest?" Momo suggested.

"It'll be hard getting around the leaders with their army around them."

"But they have some sort of unidentified flying object hovering over Soul Society." Toushiro added in, "It's pretty obvious now, by what Ulquiorra has told us, that _that _object is what they use to travel from one world to another. If we start at the top, we can do it by disabling their only way of traveling between worlds."

"Yet that leaves the fact that they still outnumber you."

The Espada had a point, Toushiro thought, and wondered how else they could defeat the army with just too few of them. "They must have a weakness…" he muttered and suddenly an idea struck him. "Captain Kenpachi managed to take part of their suit. What if we made a replica of their weapon and use it against them?"

"How if we can't trace their components?" Momo reminded him, "Ichigo and Uryuu couldn't get anything out of it…"

"But he might be able to," Toushiro nodded towards the Espada, "if he has _some _knowledge of what those things are, then maybe he can see what that thing is made of and from there we can create a suit like theirs and something that can weaken it."

Kiyone and Momo looked hopeful at the idea, but Orihime worried. She wasn't sure that Ulquiorra even wanted to help them. Although she spent more time with him than anyone else, the Espada himself was still a big mystery to her. She knew that he could probably figure something out with the stuff Kenpachi had ripped off but the question remained was whether he would do it. Just because he didn't follow Aizen anymore didn't mean that he was on good terms with any of her friends and shinigami. In addition, having Ulquiorra to help would mean that Ichigo and the rest of them would suddenly learn that she had befriended the Espada. She knew that Uryuu, Chad, and (possibly) Rukia wouldn't be _too _mad at her – but she was afraid of what Ichigo would do. He had been almost killed – twice – by Ulquiorra. As if sensing her discomfort, Orihime looked down and saw that Momo had her hand over hers and gave her a warm smile.

"Aiding you won't be a problem, but convincing Kurosaki Ichigo that I'm not a threat will be."

"As long as you stick to your words, I'll take care of him."

* * *

Momo's heart started to beat harder as she suddenly became worried with what Ichigo would do once he saw a former enemy arriving at Urahara's with them. She took a deep breath as she felt his reiatsu getting closer and closer until he stood a few yards away from them with Uryuu, Chad, Rukia, Renji, and Captain Kuchiki trailing behind.

"Ul-Ulquiorra?!" the substitute shinigami muttered, his eyes taking in the former Espada.

"He's here to help us," Toushiro announced before any of them drew their zanpakutos.

"Like hell he is! He's our enemy! And how did he get here?! Last time I checked, he was turning into ashes in Hueco Mundo!"

"We'll discuss those details later but in the meantime, we need his help since we can't open a gate to Soul Society!"

"And how can we trust him when he worked for Aizen-"

A firm hand was placed on Ichigo's shoulder, causing the boy to stop and turn around, watching as Kenpachi stood behind him but made eye contact with Captain Hitsugaya.

"We are losing time arguing over this," the spiky-haired captain pointed out, "let the Espada help us. We've been here for _days _and we haven't been able to open some sort of communication to the other side. I'm sure he has some trick up his sleeve that these things probably don't know since he isn't a shinigami and worked for Aizen, who probably has an idea of what those things are. So, instead of arguing over him, let's give him a chance and see what he can do. After that, you can go round three on him!"

Ichigo shrugged his shoulder away from Kenpachi's firm grip and took a step forward; however Toushiro suddenly stood in front of him.

"My home is going to become dust the more we stand around here arguing – so either accept the fact that he's here, or get out."

Ichigo looked surprised at the young captain's demand and his gaze fell on the Espada once again, eyes narrowing as he noticed Orihime standing very close to him.

_Oh, please don't tell me…._

"Fine," Ichigo sighed, "But if he pulls something on us, I'll rip his arms off."

* * *

Toushiro handed the object Kenpachi had gathered to the Espada, watching him closely as he looked past the Espada for a second and meeting Momo's gaze as she looked at the Espada and the thing in his hand. He knew that she wanted Ulquiorra to figure out what the thing was, help them create some weapon to defeat these beings, and head back to Soul Society. He hated seeing her worried but he couldn't lie to her and tell her that everything was going to be OK. They've been stuck in Karakura Town for a week without any information, and even though he didn't like the fact of having one of Aizen's former Arrancars helping them, he had no choice but to get whichever help he could.

"Berserkers, eh?" Kenpachi said out loud, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "and they like to hunt for fun and pleasure?"

The group thought about what the Espada said, shocked that this new enemy would suddenly appear and attack their home just for the hunt. Realizing how much information the Espada had (it wasn't much but the fact that it was _something_) made them understand Toushiro's point on having a former enemy help.

"What can you tell us about that?" Toushiro asked him.

"I cannot make out the components, but I am certain that this is part of their biology."

"What do you mean?"

"Like a biosuit?" Uryuu asked, "Their suit may contain some of their biological makeup. I have been thinking about it for a while."

Ulquiorra nodded and Renji spoke up.

"But how can they create such things?"

"They're technologically advanced," Uryuu said, "They rely on technology to live and fight."

"So without it," Kenpachi put in, "They're worthless."

Toushiro nodded and looked at Momo again, noticing how she had something else to say. The others continued speaking, bringing up the information Ulquiorra had given them, as he walked over to her. He crouched next to her and grabbed her hand.

"Is something wrong?"

"I was just thinking that maybe, if the suits are created using their own DNA, then maybe Orihime can _heal _the objects and recreate the suit." Momo whispered to him, though not realizing that everybody in the room had heard it. Suddenly, batches of eyes (including Orihime's) were on her and she felt like a specimen underneath a microscope. Embarrassed, she scooted closer to Toushiro.

"That's a great idea!" clapped Captain Ukitake as he grabbed the object and placed it in front of the orange-haired girl. "Can you do it?"

It sounded less of a question and more of a command, but Orihime paid no head as she grabbed the object from his hands and placed it in front of her. The rest stayed quiet as she summoned her fairies and began to reject what had occurred.

Nonetheless, nobody was ready for what next occurred as suddenly one of the beings (inside biosuit) became the result of what Orihime had healed. For a split second, the being looked around, as if confused but then he stood up and aimed his weapon. However, a wall of ice suddenly appeared, circling the being and imprisoning him in order to give the shinigamis some time to kill it. As soon as the white light hit the wall of ice, Toushiro appeared in front of it and attacked it, the Berserker's weapon ripping out of the suit and collapsing to the floor. A loud, angry growl came out as it as it suddenly started speaking. The shinigamis stood around confusingly, not sure what it was saying.

The Berserker quickly took off its helmet and threw it on the floor, meeting everybody's eyes as it pounded its massive chest like a wild animal. It looked around, unaware to everybody's shocked stares that it was looking around for a weakness. Though the Berserker knew that they couldn't understand him, it continued speaking, watching as they looked at each other. It used this slight distraction of them figuring out what to do next as it did a quick sweep of the room. It noticed that the being with the single horn and green eyes was standing in front of the female that had brought him back and the one that had attacked him was in front of a smaller female with large brown eyes. The rest of them looked on guard with their weapons drawn, _but one_…

Kenpachi screamed as the Berserker shifted away from his attack and went towards Kiyone, who stood by a corner. The Berserker grabbed the young shinigami and pulled her in front of him. Kiyone groaned as she grabbed its wrist, trying to loosen the hold it suddenly had around her neck. Kenpachi appeared next to it yet before he could have stabbed it, the Berserker grabbed his zanpaluto, ignoring the sudden pain that erupted in its hand, and kicked the shinigami back.

As soon as Kenpachi landed back, Toushiro and Ichigo appeared beside it. The Berserker moved back, pulling Kiyone between him and Ichigo but growled as it felt his feet suddenly become cold and still. Looking down, it saw ice suddenly crawl up its body and a horrible pain shot through its body as he suddenly he couldn't feel his right arm.

Kiyone fell on the floor and crawled away from the Berserker as a green Cero quickly appeared and hit the Berserker square on the chest, sending its body flying through the wall and onto the ground outside. Black goo, which they all presumed to be its blood, oozed out of the hole where his arm used to be and from the hole the Cero had made on its chest. Toushiro walked over, Hyorinmaru gripped tightly in his hands, as he stared down at the semi-conscious being. The Berserker looked at the shinigami's face, speaking in its strange language again. However, before it could have finished saying whatever it was saying, Toushiro brought Hyorinmaru up and back down on the Berserker's neck, ending what was left of the thing's life.

Silently, the shinigami turned around as the rest stood by the Berserker's lifeless body.

"Together, they're unstable; but alone, they're weak." Kenpachi stated, glaring down at the being.

"The suit they wear is linked to their bodies," muttered Uryuu, "When Orihime healed part of the suit, it healed the Berserker as well."

"Destroy the suit, and they're done," Ichigo murmured.

Toushiro turned around and walked back the shop, watching Momo as she and Rukia tended Kiyone. The short-haired shinigami looked frightened and flinched whenever one of the girls touched her. Toushiro turned and walked over to the weapon the Berserker had dropped and gently picked it up, not wanting to accidentally set it off and hit someone. There were no buttons or any other type of indication that showed how to fire the thing, so he put it back down on the floor and walked back towards Momo.

Captain Ukitake carried Kiyone, who was close to having a panic attack, elsewhere with Rukia falling behind and Urahara sadly stared at the large hole made on his wall. Tessai, Urahara's employee, appeared with wood and nails and swiftly began to repair the damage as much as possible.

* * *

Yachiru knew that it was risky, but she knew that it was either try to escape the now-ruined Soul Society or stay and continue hiding. She was currently under ground with two other shinigami. They had stumbled upon what resembled and underground tunnel and were glad that the creatures hadn't figured out where she was hiding yet, but knew that soon, they will discover the tunnel too.

Along with the two shinigami, Yachiru walked around the tunnel figuring out where she could dig out and escape towards Rukongai. She knew that the creatures hadn't touched Rukongai at all, but why? Was there something in Seireitei that they wanted?

She stopped and looked up, climbing on towards the ceiling and swiftly digging through the old concrete and wood. It took hours for her to see what looked like sunshine. She made a small hole and looked, smiling as she saw the white wall that separated Rukongai from Seireitei. Finally, she was getting away. Nonetheless, she suddenly frowned as she saw Captain Yamamoto's decapitated head firmly placed on a stick upon the wall, showing Rukongai what has been accomplished.

* * *

They sat around the gun, their attention refocused on entering Soul Society. Despite the fact that Orihime had (inadvertently) brought back one of those beings, it didn't help them figure out how to open a gate or form some type of communication. Renji, Ikkaku, and Hisagi had unclothed the Berserker and thrown the empty body (with its severed head) inside what looked like a cell in Urahara's basement. Afterwards, they had placed the biosuit next to the gun for Urahara and Uryuu to perform further research.

Kenpachi walked around the room with his hands twitching. Seeing the Berserker suddenly brought back to life had made him feel guiltier at the fact that Yachiru was still in Soul Society, but he refused to believe that she was dead. She was smart and knew when to escape and hide.

"All this time," Momo said, yet only grabbing Toushiro's and Matsumoto's attention, "we've been trying to open a gate from here but were never able to."

"Well, from where else could we open a gate to enter Soul Society?" questioned Ichigo.

"Hueco Mundo," she responded, and everyone suddenly had her attention, "Ulquiorra is here. He's been traveling from here to Hueco Mundo like nothing and I _know _he can open a garganta to Soul Society from Hueco Mundo." Momo looked at him, feeling nervous as his emotionless gaze met her. "He was the closest to Aizen, and I know he has some way of entering Soul Society from Hueco Mundo. These Berserkers probably aren't blocking anything coming from Hueco Mundo since they probably don't know what Hueco Mundo is."

"She's right," Byakuya said, eyes still closed, "when the Espada attacked, the Berserker looked a bit surprised, yet it seemed familiar with our attacks. Since they hunt by taking over a world, temporarily or not, they must have studied us at some point to have knowledge of zanpakutos and bankais. However, if it didn't see Ulquiorra's Cero coming, then that he means he had no knowledge that Ulquiorra isn't a shinigami."

"Can you do it?" asked Toushiro to the quiet Espada, "can you open a garganta from Hueco Mundo to Soul Society?"

"I had never tried, but Aizen has taught me how to." The Espada responded.

Kenpachi stopped walking around and sat down by Ikkaku. "So we go to Hueco Mundo, and from there to Soul Society? Do we just fight as soon as we get out or we going to have to hide and find some weak point?"

* * *

Yachiru and her two companions were about to dig their way out of the tunnel and towards Rukongai but stopped as soon as a strange, yet familiar, noise was heard. One of the shinigamis walked further into the tunnel as he stood right in front of door. Yachiru followed him and heard the noise becoming louder as she placed her ear against the door. The voice behind the door sounded a lot like…

_Captain Mayuri?_

She heard something heavy being dragged around and wondered what was going on. She knew she could push down the door, but was afraid if one of those things were behind the door and not the weird captain.

"It's him," one of her companions said, "it sounds like him…."

"Captain Mayuri?" the other shinigami said and the ruckus behind the door stopped.

Suddenly, the door opened and Captain Mayuri appeared with black goo on his hands. He looked at the males then at Yachiru before turning to Nemu and Captain Unohana.

"Zaraki's kid lieutenant is alive!"

Yachiru entered the room and saw one of the creatures lying in the middle of the floor with needles pinned towards its body. The being was naked and it looked dead. She looked up at Mayuri and saw him smirk.

"A little dissection doesn't hurt. Besides, the venom I had created worked." The captain said proudly as he turned around and pointed at two more unconscious beings lying on the side of the room.

"How did you all escape?" one of the shinigamis asked and Mayuri shrugged. "The same way you did. Besides, it's about time we used this old tunnel to good use! Say, lieutenant, where's your loud-mouthed captain?"

Yachiru shrugged sadly, "He told me to run… He was fighting those things when I left him."

Mayuri nodded as he walked around the room, "He wouldn't be hiding; he's too stubborn for that. If he's not dead, then he's not in Soul Society."

"He could be in Karakura Town," Unohana said and Isane nodded next to her.

"Could be. I felt Ukitake's temporary gate towards Karakura Town open, but we can't go there."

"Why not?" Yachiru questioned the captain.

"Because they felt the gate open too," Mayuri replied, pointing a long finger up, "and they would follow us. Last thing we want is them destroying the second place we can go without seeing them. Therefore, we will go elsewhere as soon as more of the venom is finished!"

"And where would that be?"

"Hueco Mundo."

* * *

Toushiro and Momo decided to head back to Orihime's house and use her spare room as Matsumoto chose to stay with Kiyone and comfort her as much as possible at Urahara's shop. Momo placed her futon down on the floor as she caught her childhood friend standing in the middle of the room without his shirt on. He still had his pants on but they were hanging low from his hips and she couldn't help but notice some hair forming around his navel and traveling down…

_What am I doing?_

"I think Ururu is going to be upset that you're not sleeping at Urahara's," she joked, knowing that the only reason why she loved to tease him about the shy girl was to see how he would react.

Toushiro snorted as he turned his head towards her, "All of this planning has put nonsense into your head, Bed-Wetter."

Momo groaned and threw her pillow at him. "I do not wet the bed anymore!"

He grabbed the pillow with ease and threw it back at her, watching as she grabbed it and got up from her futon. She ran up to him and swung the pillow, but he dodged it, grabbed her waist, and tackled her down onto his futon. Momo squealed as she opened her eyes and found her once-short childhood friend staring down at her with a mischievous look on his face.

"I win."

"You cheated."

"How?"

"By tackling! That wasn't part of the rules."

"And since when were there rules to throwing pillows?"

Momo stayed quiet as her brain scrambled for an answer, but then her brain turned into mush as she felt pair of cold lips touch hers. It was quick and she felt disappointed when he pulled back, as if uncertain of himself.

"I had always wanted to do that," he admitted.

"Now that's cheating…"

"How?"

His eyes widened as she wrapped her legs around his waist and turned, pushing him down to the floor and straddling his waist.

"Because you never gave me time to get ready."

He was about to question her but her lips found his and he knew that he rather enjoy the kiss than question her silly antics. Lips still meeting hers, he sat up and wrapped his arms around her, pushing her down to the floor and placing a leg between hers. He had always imagined kissing her but never dared, afraid that she would break his heart and leave an awkwardness between them. But seeing how she kissed him back, and hell was she a kisser, he knew that his chance to take things further between them was here.

Tomorrow, they would put their plan together on getting their home back; but right now, he felt at home with her in his arms.

* * *

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